Fiscal year 2007-08: Rs 43.1081 billion CDGK draft budget presented amidst uproar

The City District Government Karachi (CDGK) on Saturday presented a draft of Rs 43.1081 billion surplus budget for the fiscal 2007-08 in the City Council budget session amid uproar by the Opposition. The estimated expenditures for the fiscal year have been drafted of Rs 43.6021 billion thus forecasting a surplus of Rs 493.9 million.
The fiscal draft budget does not include any new taxes. Presiding over the City Council Budget 2007-08 session, City Naib Nazim Nasreen Jalil resumed the adjourned proceedings. The proceedings lasted only 40-minute was also suspended twice for five-minute each time due to chaos created by the Opposition benches were chanting slogans were also holding banners, placards to press their demands.
The Opposition leader of Awam Dost Panel, Saeed Ghani, demanded that an FIR should be lodged against those involved in assaults on them, besides their suspension of membership from the house
Nasreen Jalil continuously asked the Opposition members to calm down and give up raising slogan during the budget session, however, she remained unheard altogether. She urged them to take part in the Council affairs regarding Budget 2007-08, but Opposition members were protesting against the Thursday's violent attacks against them by the members from the ruling party during the session.
Nasreen Jalil finally announced to bar the member of treasury benches, Salman Mujahid Baloch, for three Council sessions who attacked the Opposition members with his belt (widely published in newspapers). Now he will not be able to attend the next three Council sessions.
She constituted a probe committee to ascertain the facts behind the said incident comprising members from both sides and would submit its report to her. Finally, as she failed to convince the Opposition amidst a serious kind of uproar, she asked the ruling party's members to table a resolution to hand over the city government's draft budget 2007-08 to budget committee. She said that members to submit their suggestions and proposals for making budget report more effective within next six-days to finalise the budget.
The budget resolution was approved by the majority of votes, while opposition members did not participate in the process, and continued chanting slogans and uproar during the entire session. The session was adjourned till May 14 by City Naib Nazim.
The budget estimates, including the allocation of Rs 513.91 million for newly established department, Municipal Services also increase the heads in health, transport and communication, information technology, literacy and water and sewerage sectors.
The CDGK proposed Rs 3.145 billion for the health sector as compared with Rs 2.869 billion earmarked last year. Like this, the literacy department had allocated Rs 58.09 million as in the last year it was only Rs 8.53 million, showing the government's intention to increase the literacy rate.
However, the city government set aside Rs 220.18 million for information technology head which is against the last year's Rs 56.07 million, while the allocation for the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB) is Rs 7.885 billion as compared with Rs 5.305 billion last year.
Moreover, the development expenditure has also increased from Rs 10.134 billion against the last year's Rs 7.259 billion as the allocation for Tameer-e-Karachi Programme (TKP) had reduced Rs 5.200 billion, as it was Rs 9.893 billion last year.